Large, publicly available databases allow us to investigate these questions from aggregated MRI and genetic data, e.g. 1000+ subjects [1]}. The shape of the brain has been modeled as lying on a smooth manifold in high dimensional MRI data space [2]}, [3]}, where phenotype can be described as a smooth deformation conditioned on developmental factors including the environment. However the brain is also naturally described as a rich collection of spatially localized neuroanatomical structures, including common structures such as the basal ganglia shared across the population, but also highly specific patterns such as cortical folds that may only be observable in specific individuals or close family members [4]}.
